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November 20, 2012

A New Platform for Alternatives; Finding Safety for Small BDs: December Investment Advisor—Slideshow

Another year is gone and with the December issue of Investment Advisor comes a look at a new platform to help advisors manage alternative investment assets. CAIS launched a global exchange for alternatives that the creators say lets advisors conduct their due diligence, analyze their investments and ultimately make the trades they want.

While it seemed the wave of small broker-dealers closing their doors seemed to never end earlier this year, one firm managed to beat the trend. Leaders at Harbour Investments say it’s just common sense.

Finally, it may be puzzling to some, but we talked with American Funds for this month’s Overlooked Manager about the importance of selecting the right manager and keeping objectives aligned with clients’ needs.

Get three smart guys together in a bar, give them a few drinks to get the “creative” going, and they’re bound to hit on an idea. Throw in the phrase “alternative investments,” and you quickly realize why their idea has taken off.

CAIS has launched what it calls the first global alternatives exchange, known as CAIS-X, which provides advisors with a platform for conducting due diligence, analysis and trading of alternative investments. They sat down with Editor-in-Chief John Sullivan to explain why the time is right and what’s making it so successful.

What makes Madison, Wis.-based broker-dealer Harbour Investments better than its competitors, many of whom have recently shut their doors? “We don’t think we’re any smarter than anybody else,” David Rosenow, vice president of business and product development, told Editor-in-Chief John Sullivan. “It’s just maybe we’re better listeners at times.”

The team at Harbour has different ideas about what makes them great, but one thing seems clear: doing the opposite of what their competitors have done may be just the right strategy.

We understand the confusion readers have expressed over some of the funds we’ve deemed “overlooked.” But while we’ve always maintained fund families may enjoy a high profile, they might nonetheless contain a hidden gem not yet recognized. We’ve done it again, featuring a mutual fund behemoth that will surely have some slapping their foreheads, but with a critical issue of increasing importance just over the horizon, we’re confident you’ll soon understand the method driving the madness.

American Funds (yes, American Funds) has long been known for its media silence, preferring to let stellar performance and extraordinary assets under management speak for themselves. Editor-in-Chief John Sullivan talks with the money makers at American Funds to find out how American Funds is “driving the conversation in the industry.” Skepticism aside (after all, is a 747 an experimental aircraft, or a Bentley an affordable mid-size sedan?), we soon considered the benefits of labeling American Funds with the overlooked manager tag—especially when it comes to helping clients with their retirement planning.